Skyroot Aerospace
Skyroot Aerospace is an Indian private aerospace company developing and operating commercially focused small-satellite launch vehicles.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Skyroot Aerospace Private Limited is an Indian aerospace manufacturer and commercial launch-service provider headquartered in Hyderabad, Telangana. Founded in 2018 by former Indian Space Research Organisation scientists Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, the company is focused on reducing the cost and lead time of launching small satellites through vertically integrated vehicle development, modular rocket architecture, composite structures, additive manufacturing, and privately developed propulsion systems. The company emerged as India began opening parts of its space sector to private participation. Reforms announced in 2020 created a policy and regulatory framework for private space activity and enabled companies to seek access to selected national space infrastructure under the oversight of the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre. Skyroot used this changing environment to develop a family of launch vehicles under the Vikram name, supported by the Kalam series of solid rocket motors and liquid and cryogenic propulsion technologies. Skyroot's first major public milestone was Mission Prarambh on 18 November 2022. The mission launched Vikram-S, a privately developed suborbital rocket, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota. The vehicle reached approximately 89.5 kilometres and made Skyroot the first Indian private company to launch a rocket successfully. The mission was also treated as a landmark for the country's emerging private space industry because it demonstrated that a non-government company could design, build, integrate, and fly a launch vehicle using national launch infrastructure. After the Vikram-S flight, Skyroot expanded its financing and development programme. In October 2023, the company announced a US$27.5 million pre-Series C financing round led by Temasek, taking reported cumulative funding to approximately US$95 million. It also expanded its engineering and manufacturing infrastructure. In October 2023, Skyroot unveiled MAX-Q, a 60,000-square-foot integrated rocket development facility near Rajiv Gandhi International Airport in Hyderabad. A Telangana government memorandum announced in January 2025 contemplated a further rocket manufacturing, integration, and testing facility with an estimated investment of ₹500 crore. The company's principal orbital vehicle is Vikram-1, described as a four-stage small-lift rocket intended to serve the commercial small-satellite market. Its propulsion architecture combines solid first, second, and third stages using Kalam-series motors with liquid-fuel upper-stage technology based on the Raman engine. Skyroot is also developing Vikram-2, a heavier-lift vehicle intended to use cryogenic propulsion from the Dhawan engine family. Dhawan engines use liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen and incorporate additive manufacturing and regenerative cooling concepts. Skyroot's development activity includes static-fire tests of the Kalam-250 and Kalam-100 motors, as well as endurance testing of Dhawan cryogenic engines. The company has also pursued collaborations intended to connect its launch capability with commercial space infrastructure and satellite systems, including a memorandum of understanding with Axiom Space concerning low-Earth-orbit access and future space-station-related missions. Reference material describes Mission Aagaman as Skyroot's first orbital Vikram-1 mission, with a launch window announced for July to August 2026. The same material states that the mission successfully deployed payloads at approximately 450 kilometres on 18 July 2026. Because these events are future-dated relative to some publication contexts, their final status and operational details should be independently checked against authoritative launch records. Skyroot's broader positioning is that of an Indian private launch provider combining domestic engineering with globally oriented commercial launch services.
History
Skyroot Aerospace was established in 2018 by Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka, both former ISRO scientists. The founders pursued a privately developed launch-vehicle business aimed at the growing global demand for small-satellite launches. Their approach emphasized modular vehicle design, composite structures, three-dimensional printing, and internally developed propulsion in order to shorten production cycles and control costs. The company developed during a major policy transition in India. Space-sector reforms introduced in 2020 expanded the potential role of private firms and created IN-SPACe as a body for authorizing and promoting private space activity. The reforms also provided mechanisms through which private companies could use selected government facilities and technical infrastructure. Skyroot's programme consequently combined private engineering and capital with access to India's established launch ecosystem. Its first flight vehicle was Vikram-S, a suborbital rocket designed to demonstrate company-developed launch technologies. On 18 November 2022, Mission Prarambh lifted off from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota and reached approximately 89.5 kilometres. The flight was widely regarded as a defining event in India's private space sector and made Skyroot the first Indian private company to conduct a successful rocket launch. Following Prarambh, Skyroot raised additional private capital and accelerated work on orbital vehicles. In October 2023, it disclosed a US$27.5 million pre-Series C round led by Temasek and reported cumulative funding of roughly US$95 million. It also expanded physical infrastructure through MAX-Q, a 60,000-square-foot integrated facility in Hyderabad. In January 2025, Telangana announced a memorandum with the company concerning a larger manufacturing, integration, and testing complex. Skyroot's orbital programme is organized around the Vikram family. Vikram-1 is a four-stage small-lift vehicle using Kalam solid motors in its lower stages and Raman liquid-fuel technology in its upper-stage architecture. Vikram-2 is under development as a larger vehicle and is intended to use a Dhawan cryogenic upper-stage engine. The company has progressively tested the associated propulsion systems, including static fires of Kalam-250 and Kalam-100 and endurance tests of the Dhawan engine family. The Dhawan-I engine was unveiled in 2020 as a privately developed small cryogenic engine using liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen. Skyroot subsequently reported a 200-second endurance test of Dhawan-II in 2023. Reference material also describes a 145-second static-fire test of Dhawan-III in 2026, conducted on an internally developed mobile test stand. These engines are associated with the company's longer-term ambitions for heavier-lift and potentially reusable launch systems. Skyroot has also sought partnerships beyond vehicle development. In 2024, it was identified as a participant in an agreement concerning India's proposed multi-sensor Earth-observation satellite constellation. In 2025, its memorandum with Axiom Space linked its future launch capability with commercial low-Earth-orbit infrastructure and possible logistics for research payloads and orbital facilities. Reference material reports that Skyroot announced Mission Aagaman for July-August 2026 and subsequently achieved a successful Vikram-1 orbital flight on 18 July 2026. The reported mission deployed payloads at approximately 450 kilometres. These 2026 claims should be verified against independent launch records and official company or government announcements before being treated as settled historical fact.
- 2025
Telangana facility memorandum
[1]Telangana and Skyroot signed a memorandum concerning a private rocket manufacturing, integration, and testing facility.
- 2024
Kalam-250 static-fire test
[1]The Kalam-250 second-stage solid motor was static-tested at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre.
- 2023
Pre-Series C financing announced
[1]Skyroot announced a US$27.5 million round led by Temasek and reported cumulative funding of approximately US$95 million.
- 2023
MAX-Q facility opened
[1]The company unveiled a 60,000-square-foot integrated rocket development facility in Hyderabad.
- 2022
Mission Prarambh
[1]Vikram-S completed a suborbital flight from Sriharikota, marking India's first successful launch of a privately developed rocket.
- 2020
Dhawan-I cryogenic engine unveiled
[1]Skyroot presented Dhawan-I, a privately developed LNG-and-liquid-oxygen cryogenic engine intended for future heavier-lift systems.
- 2018
Company founded
[1]Former ISRO scientists Pawan Kumar Chandana and Naga Bharath Daka founded Skyroot Aerospace in Hyderabad.
Products and positioning
A privately funded Indian space company seeking to provide cost-efficient, responsive launch services for small satellites while developing vertically integrated launch vehicles and propulsion systems.
Suborbital rocket · 2022
Vikram-S
Vikram-S is Skyroot's suborbital technology-demonstration rocket. It flew on Mission Prarambh from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on 18 November 2022, reached approximately 89.5 kilometres, and established the company's launch capability. The flight was also a landmark for Indian private space activity because it was the country's first successful launch of a privately developed rocket.
Small-lift orbital launch vehicle · 2026
Vikram-1
Vikram-1 is a four-stage small-lift launch vehicle intended for commercial small-satellite missions. Its architecture uses Kalam solid rocket motors in the lower stages and Raman liquid-fuel technology in the upper-stage system. Reference material reports a first orbital flight on 18 July 2026, but that result should be checked against independent launch records.
Small-lift orbital launch vehicle
Vikram-2
Vikram-2 is an under-development member of the Vikram launch-vehicle family. It is intended to provide greater lift capability than the initial vehicle and is planned to use a cryogenic upper stage powered by a Dhawan-series engine.
Solid rocket motor
Kalam-100
Kalam-100 is a solid rocket motor associated with the third stage of Vikram-1. It is reported to produce approximately 100 kilonewtons of peak vacuum thrust. A 2025 static-fire test included a flex-nozzle thrust-vector-control system and lasted more than 102 seconds.
Solid rocket motor
Kalam-250
Kalam-250 is the second-stage solid motor for Vikram-1. Its reported static-fire qualification test in March 2024 lasted approximately 85 seconds and was intended to validate the motor and related propulsion systems.
Solid rocket motor
Kalam-1200
Kalam-1200 is the first-stage solid motor planned for Vikram-1. Skyroot reported a 110-second static test in August 2025 to validate the booster-stage design.
Liquid-fuel rocket engine
Raman-I
Raman-I is an earth-storable liquid-fuel upper-stage engine associated with the Vikram-1 propulsion architecture.
Cryogenic rocket engines · 2020
Dhawan engine family
The Dhawan family comprises cryogenic engines using liquefied natural gas and liquid oxygen. The engines incorporate additive manufacturing and regenerative cooling and are intended to support heavier-lift vehicles, advanced upper stages, and possible future reusable systems. Reported tests include a 200-second Dhawan-II endurance firing in 2023 and a 145-second Dhawan-III firing in 2026.
Brand decisions
2025
Expansion of manufacturing and testing capacityStrategyBackground
The company required larger facilities to move from technology demonstration toward recurring orbital-vehicle production.
Action taken
Skyroot signed a memorandum with the Telangana government concerning a private rocket manufacturing, integration, and testing facility.
Aftermath
The planned expansion would increase local production and testing capacity, although the final implementation details require verification.
Estimated investment. ₹500 crore (Announced January 2025)
2022
Launch of Vikram-SProduct launchBackground
Skyroot needed an early flight demonstration before attempting orbital launch operations.
Action taken
The company flew the Vikram-S suborbital rocket on Mission Prarambh from Sriharikota.
Aftermath
The mission established Skyroot as the first Indian private company to successfully launch a rocket and provided a public demonstration of its launch systems.
2020
Adoption of a vertically integrated launch strategyStrategyBackground
Skyroot was developing launch vehicles for the small-satellite market amid India's opening of space activity to private companies.
Action taken
The company pursued in-house vehicle design, composite structures, additive manufacturing, and proprietary solid, liquid, and cryogenic propulsion.
Aftermath
This strategy supported the Vikram-S demonstration flight and the subsequent Vikram orbital-vehicle programme.
Recent events
Skyroot raises $4.5 million in bridge funding[2]
Reported:
Skyroot Aerospace said it raised USD 4.5 million in a bridge round to Series B funding led by Sherpalo Ventures, with participation from Wami Capital and existing investors.
Skyroot Aerospace signs agreement with Department of Space[3]
Reported:
Skyroot Aerospace entered into a non-disclosure agreement with India’s Department of Space, under which Skyroot will get access to facilities and technical expertise at ISRO centres for its launch vehicle development programme.
Sources3 sources
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